When we began gardening in earnest, when the youngest offspring went to school all day and we had more free time at home, it was the growing of herbs that snagged our attention. Easy to grow, beautiful in the landscape and useful, what more could be asked from any plant? Books about herbs and herb gardens were checked out at the library and some were purchased or received as gifts for birthdays and Mother’s Day. Every fact about how to grow and use them was devoured and digested. Lavender was the first planted and we were smitten.

Fast forward to now, several years and gardens later. Lavender is still grown in the Fairegarden, several varieties, some names we know, some are just Lavandula ssp like this variety that grows along the wall behind the main house that will be used in the project detailed below. The blooms are open at the optimum stage for making lavender wands, just beginning to flower.

What are lavender wands you might be asking? Kitty will help with the visual demonstration to explain. These are old wands made several years ago, 2003 or before, still in good shape and still quite fragrant. The idea is to encase the buds and flowers by bending the stems over them and securing either by weaving ribbon or other material or simply tying the stems together below the flower bulge. Today we will show the weaving of ribbon technique. The beginning steps are the same for both ways and an explanation of simply tying will be presented at the proper moment. (Yes, the basket is one I made long ago, if you were wondering.)

Begin by cutting the longest stems you can find on the plant that have a few flowers completely opened. This is nineteen pieces, you will need an odd number to use so the weaving comes out right. I have used as few as eleven and as many as twenty three. Fifteen is probably ideal. This is the best time, but whenever you can spare a few minutes to do this will work as well. There should be some flowers opened however. Really one begins by growing the lavender, but that goes without saying, doesn’t it? Onward.

Once you have cut the stems, find a shady spot outdoors with a comfortable chair and a nice breeze. The wands need to be made as soon after the stem cutting as possible since they will become dry and brittle quickly and break rather than bend. There will be buds and leaves that fall to your lap, save them for a pleasant potpourri in a small dish inside. Have a spool of quarter inch or smaller, this might be three sixteenths, ribbon at the ready and scissors, but you already have scissors that were used to cut the stems, don’t you?

Clean the stems of any leaves or buds below the top portion by pinching them with the ever handy thumbnail. Don’t just pull them, you might weaken the stem. How do you grow such a nail, you might ask? Here is our formula: Milk, a twelve ounce glass each day, plus Flintstones children’s vitamins with calcium, two per day. Milk with your coffee will not do it, sorry. This post is getting a little teensy bit sarcastic, Frances, stop it!

After the stems are cleaned, gather them together so that the bottom portion of the flower heads are all at the same place. Tie them with the ribbon in a double knot, as close to the flowers as you can get and as tight as you can make the knot. Stick the tail of the knot into the flowers to hide it.

(Before you begin the next step, be aware that I am left handed and you may or may not want to use the hands the way they are shown in the photos). Holding the bunch firmly in one hand, begin folding the stems down over the flowers and ribbon knot two at a time whilst weaving the ribbon first over the two, then under the next two all the way around. (If you want to simply bend the stems to form a cage around the flowers and tie off with the ribbon, or a piece of twine can be used, feel free to do so. Trim the stem ends and you are finished.)

Keep the ribbon straight, do not let it twist and try to keep the stems evenly spaced as you go. This will become easier with practice, beginning is the hardest part. The last set will be three stems instead of two since you have an odd number. It is okay and will be worked out when the weaving goes to one stem at a time as you get to the fatter part of the wand. Do a couple or three rows of twos. Keep the stems over top of the flowers, they might want to get pushed inside and you will lose your pattern that way. Watch that the same stems are over one row, under the next. It should not be over and over or under and under.

After three rows are finished and you are back at the three stem ending, begin going over and under with every stem rather than with two. This will make a more secure cage to hold the flowers and buds as they shrink and dry over time and will give a neater look. It may be tricky to keep the stems straight and use each one on the first row. There will be a space that is two rows open with every other stem until you have gone all the way around. That is okay, it will work itself out after the next row of single stem weaving.

Continue weaving around and around, keeping the stems straight and as evenly spaced as possible. The handy dandy thumbnail is useful for pushing the stems into place and also pushing the ribbon up as close as possible to the row above. This becomes easier after you have made a few wands. I have easily made hundreds if not more of them over the years. At first we made them as gifts, then began selling them to an herb shop in the first Tennessee town where we lived. That was the beginning of the business named Faire Garden. But that is another story for another time. Onward.

As the width of the wand begins to decrease you can start weaving two stems again like you did in the first rows. If you are only using eleven or thirteen stems, weave the whole thing using one stem for each over and under. When you have covered the flowers and are down to stems only, wrap the ribbon several times around as tightly as possible and tie off.

For this wand I wrapped the ribbon on down the stems a ways then cut it and tied off a second time, sticking the end into the stem wad below the ribbon. You can see on some of the older wands in the photo earlier that another piece of ribbon was added at the initial tie off and bows made. The point is to not have the ribbon unwind, however you want to finish it. Trim the ends of the stems neatly with the scissors. The wand is now ready for use in a lingerie drawer, stuck upright in a vase as part of a dried flower bouquet or just in a basket or dish. It will shrink a little as it dries but if you have woven tightly there should be no mess from it. To reinvigorate the scent, give the cage a light squeeze. I have some of these that are more than ten years old and the fragrance still comes to life with a gentle touch.

The favorite lavender grown here is L. angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ with the darkest blue flowers and shorter stature. It is in a stand by the arbor path and in the center quatrefoil of the knot garden. The buds are not quite open yet but will be soon. Wands could be made from them, although we already have plenty of those and aging arthritic hands cannot weave as comfortably or quickly as they could in the past. It does take a certain amount of manual dexterity to fashion these sweet tokens. We are not over the hill yet, but there is some a little pain involved in this for me now, although I hate to admit to it.

Whether or not we put the herbs here to use beyond the garden landscape beautification, lavender will always be grown. Sometimes it dies and is not replaced. Full sun and excellent drainage are essential to living long and prospering for this genus. The Hidcote has proven quite hardy, with the knot garden specimens stuck into the ground there as cuttings taken from the original plants by the arbor in January 2007. That might be the key to propagation, do it in winter while the earth is cool and moist but not frozen. It is not the cold that kills it, although pruning living stems before the spring temperatures have warmed for the duration can kill the plant. The best time to prune is soon after flowering, although dead flower stalks may be cut off at any time. Humidity is an enemy, we could not grow it at all in Houston even with the alkaline sandy soil that it loves. We have acid heavy clay here, but the sunny slopes seem to make it feel welcome. As do the bees. This fellow, a Carpenter Bee, received the powdered sugary coating from some nearby Malvas before coming to the lavender, whose stem could hardly bear his weight. He is undeterred.

For other How To posts written by Fairegarden, look for How To on the sidebar page listing or click here.

66 Responses to How To Make Lavender Wands

So lovely, Frances. I could see little princesses having a wonderful time with their lavender wands, although they might be too delicate for such heavy-handed treatment. I have several different types of Lavender here in Round Rock. Provence is my fav here. The English lavenders don’t do well for me, but the French and Mediterranean species do. Have you done a primer on pruning in the Spring? That would be interesting too.

Thanks so much Jenny. These wands are super tough, plenty so for princesses, although all we have are princes at the moment. I am not sure the wands could stand up to being used as baseball bats. Glad to hear your lavender grows well. Thanks for the suggestion about pruning, but I lose so many lavender plants it doesn’t seem right to act like I know anything about it. The only piece I have done is about pruning Japanese maples, one of the top viewed posts. Of course number one is the Lamb’s Ear Love, it has legs! HA 🙂
Frances

Lavender is another favourite of mine , unfortuantely never had luck planting it from seed in Ajman UAE (zone 11). But well done with those lovely wands. Guess my daughter can use it on another variety of flowers we have.She says thanks for the idea 🙂

All the best.

Hi Ibrahim, thanks. I am glad your daughter got some inspiration here! That makes me very happy. Other flowers of similar form could be used, what a clever idea and good for her. I did manage to grow some lavender from seed collected from a plant we had, but only once and never was able to do it again. Best to buy a plant and take cuttings. That seems to work the best here. 🙂
Frances

I love your first photo Frances~I can imagine well how delightful it smells. Kitty is looking adorable, too. I was never able to grow enough lavender to make these wands; we don’t have those perfect conditions here (Hidcote might be the answer)….but they are delightful. They do look like they require some dexterity! I thought there was a Star Trek reference in the post~ living long and prospering! LL&P to you! Imagine Vulcan greeting. xxxgail

Thanks Gail and the Vulcan sign back at ya! You might have the best luck with lavender in pots. I had one for several years until the plant grew so large that it cracked the pot and began growing in the gravel underneath, unbeknownst to me. 🙂
xxxooo,
Frances

Although the wands are beautiful, I was more impressed with how clean your hands (and nail) look. The grime on mine never seems to come off, in fact the only time I lost it, was when I didn’t work the first three months we lived in London, as soon as I went back to floral design, it came right back.

HA Deborah, I was sort of surprised at how clean my nail was too, it usually has chlorophyll imbedded in it. Must have just washed the dishes! I do wear gloves of some sort for all, make that most gardening duties. Gloveless weeding that begins as merely perusal has made the skin of my hands, noticed that didn’t get shown, like a ninety year old. 🙂
Frances

I have made these in the past. They make wonderful hostess gifts or gifts for any occasion. Like you say they last a long time. Wonderful explanation. I used to put little rubberbands on them to hold them together easier.

Hi Lisa, good to know you made them as well. I assume you put rubber bands to hold them while bending the stems, what an excellent idea! 🙂
Frances

Greetings Frances…Oh how I love lavender, oh how I miss aisles of lavender scenting a garden. Your lesson in lavender wand making and lush photos made me sigh with remembrance.

Hi Teresa, thanks, so nice to see you here. I know how you feel about missing lavender, from our time in Houston. Perhaps you could grow some in a container? At one time there was to be a large bed of nothing but lavender here, but we just couldn’t keep it going, too many deaths. Now we just enjoy it wherever we can and it seems to be doing better. Typical. 🙂
Frances

I can’t decide what’s more impressive – these lovely lavender wands or how you can be the gardener extraordinaire and keep your nails looking so pretty. 🙂 I wear gloves but it doesn’t seem to help.

Thanks Kate, that is so funny! I felt there might be comments about the nail, notice it is only the thumbnail that ever gets shown, the rest of them take a beating from digging with my hands. A shovel can only do so much, then I have to use gloved fingers to plant things. My middle fingernails crack and break constantly since that is the longest finger and gets the most stress. I even tried putting cotton balls in the tip of the middle glove finger. That actually worked quite well. The thumb is not part of the digging process so is spared. 🙂
Frances

BTW you might be needing a LOT more calcium than a kiddie’s vitimultimin will offer you. The fairy wands are a delight. And far gentler on your hands than basket making!

Well I do take TWO of those children’s vitamins, Diana. 🙂 I know that a lot of calcium is needed but the body can only use it a little at a time so it needs to be from multiple sources. Glad you liked the wands, they are fun to play with. Making them is way easier than baskets. I don’t know that I could even make a basket now that wasn’t extremely loosely woven, the opposite of what they should be. Good thing I have a lifetime supply of baskets hanging around. (Gathering dust and spider webs.) HA 🙂
Frances

Those are ever so lovely. And imagine they smell for yrs.
I’ve tried to grow lavender here but to no avail. I do so love to smell it. I’ve heard if you make a lavender pouch & place it under your pillow it will help you sleep better.
I know lavender & Camille lotion helps me even tho it’s on my hands.
Made my hands hurt just reading how to make one. lol
I’m having to take D-3 & Calcium. Arrrgg.

Thanks Lola. They do keep the fragrance for ever so long. Lavender has so many uses in herbal lore, it is highly prized by all cultures, it seems. We struggle to keep it going here, but some plants have lasted the entire ten years while most have perished, not sure why. I am so sorry for your troubles, hope the herbal potions help.
Frances

Just lovely! I cn smell them now! Have you ever been to Sequim WA on top of the Olympic Penisula of WA state? (Just across from prt of British Columbia. There is small microclimate there (a rain shadow and lots of sun!!) that replicates the region of France known for its lavender! There are lavender farms all over…and they have a huge lavender fetival in the summer. Look them up on the web!

Hi Carrie, thanks for visiting. I have never been to the Pacific Northwest, but hope to some day, I know there are many wonderful sights to see, including gardens. I will add this lavender farm to my wish list, sounds perfect. 🙂
Frances

Cats do like lavender! Or at least mine do. I cut mine way back this year and the blooms are just coming in. One plant got overrun with yarrow (which never did much in previous years), but I did a very precise yarrowectomy so things should be Ok now.

Hi Monica, our cats have always liked the lavender and other herbs as well. I cut a couple of the lavender plants back hard because they would grow into the pathways and steps if not and they seem to survive. Don’t want to jinx it though, forget I said that. I know about the yarrowectomy, having done some here, very tedious work.
Frances

Thanks Frances for the excellent instructions. I have a new garden with a good size lavender border that is looking lovely so far this year and will definitely try some wands when they flower. And yes, your hand (or I guess nail) looks much too clean for a gardener!

Thanks Linda. How wonderful to have a border of lavender. We have tried it several times here with too many deaths to have more than one here and one there of the original plantings. The Hidcote definitely does better for us. All I can say about the cleanliness of the nail is that I must have just scrubbed something. Believe me, I have the hands of a gardener! 🙂
Frances

Very Nice .. i am going to make it soon after my dad gets me some lavender , because here in UAE THE WEATHER IS SO HOT BUT my dad tried to plant lavender but it did grow … Wish me Luck in doing it … and i wish u do more stuff like this … I LOVE IT ITS GORGEOUS 😀 BYE BYE

Hi LAMA, thanks and welcome. I am glad your dad’s lavender is growing, it is such a wonderful plant. I believe lavender likes heat, it is humidity that bothers it, something we have here in Tennessee, but not as bad as in Houston, Texas. May your wanks give you great pleasure. There is a category on my sidebar called How To that lists posts that show how to do certain garden type things you might want to check out. 🙂
Frances

Frances, I love this post because lavender is my go-to plant/fragrance, and without it I would be a much unhappier person. There is a little crystal saucer of lavender flowers on my office desk. I have lavender essential oil in the bedroom, bouquets and sachets of dried lavender, locally made lavender soap, bath gel, bath bombs, facial cream, circulation gel (well, that’s made in Quebec but is incroyable!) linen spray…and one lavender wand I made about 8 years ago. So as you can see, this post made me smile and smile (especially with Kitty’s helpful demonstration.) I only have a few plants outside as it is a challenge to grow in my clay, but I also put in a few new plants yearly, because there is nothing like watching bees drunk on lavender flowers to make me exquisitely joyful.
Wanted to also tell you–the hellebores are coming along beautifully. They rallied after their grueling voyage and are really growing well in their pots, enough so that I hope to put them into the ground in another month or so. Every time I look at them, I grin and think of you. 🙂

Hi Jodi, thanks for taking time to visit, I know how busy you are right now, and for those sweet sentiments. It makes me happy to know the Hellebores are doing well. May they live long and prosper, giving you so many babies that you will be giving them away someday. 🙂
Frances

You explained it very well, much better in fact than the explanation I had when I tried to make a wand some years ago. Hmm, didn’t I notice Don popping up half way thru your post? 😉
Oh your poor hands, I’m sorry they won’t do all that you want from them anymore. We tend to take our bodies for granted, don’t we, until we find out it’s a blessing when everything works properly, not a right.

XXX

Yolanda

Hi Yoland, thanks. It is better to show someone sitting right next to you, but we always try to be thorough with the how to posts. Detail oriented you know, and Don tries to sneak in now and then. Thank goodness for the edit button, but he gets a say once in a while. I knew basket making was a thing of the past, or basket making as it should be done, the hand strength, like ALL strength is just not there anymore. Accept our frailties and do what we can, right? 🙂
Frances

Love this. I have lavender that is in it’s second year at my place. It didn’t bloom last year. I don’t know if that is normal or not, but I’m really hoping it will bloom this year. I’d love to try this.

Hi Diane, thanks and welcome. Sometimes seed grown lavender does not bloom the first year, but others should. Hope you get enough blooms this year to try wand making. It needs lots of sunshine! 🙂
Frances

I would love an attempt at creating these wands but…my lavender flowers are sooo sparse! Something burrows right through the pod. Does anyone know what this might be and how to stop it? My plants are quite large and smell so wonderful but I can’t get them to flower:(

Hi Isabel, I am so sorry about your lavender problem. I have never had that happen, lavender and rosemary are never bothered by pests here.
Frances

How good, Frances!
The Admired Every step of your Detailed Explanations and try to make myself the stirrers fragrant lavender plant That I love for all His qualities: color, aroma and delicacy of habit!
You are very talented and skillful With His hands and hit me Also your work with the basketball, I Had not got to see!
Congratulations

Hi Tyzania, thanks. You are sweet to say that. I hope these directions will help you be able to make lavender wands of your own. 🙂
Frances

Ah, you are left-handed–that explains why you are so creative, Frances:) So many of the really creative people I know are also left-handed. I’m afraid my one little lavender plant would not provide enough material for one of these wands, but I do love them. They must smell heavenly! As always, your instructions are excellent.

Thanks Rose. Being left handed is a mixed blessing. Thank goodness my dad stopped my first grade teacher from trying to make me use my right hand, as was commonly done way back then. Who knows what depravity would have resulted? May you lavender plant grow large and give you extra stems to make a wand someday, my friend. 🙂
Frances

Thank you Frances, an original and beautiful idea – ticking several of William Morris’s boxes. Thank you for my first visit to your blog, I stayed a goodly while.. how nice that you were nearby, I hope you liked Dixter. Best wishes

Hi Marian, thanks and welcome. The lavender wand is most definitely not original to me, I saw a picture of one somewhere long ago with some vague instructions, can’t remember where. I am a fan of W. Morris as well as Christopher Lloyd. You have a fabulous blog! 🙂
Frances

I am not crafty, Francis, (well yes I am but metaphorically, not physically) but I am sorely tempted to try this, despite the warnings against athritic loss of agility, something I can relate to. However that is one sexy well-groomed thumb nail, the likes of which I could never sport – even in my youth, even if I’d tried!

How funny, crafty Jack, thanks! I would be wary of a male with that sort of thumbnail, but believe you could make a lavender wand anyway. 🙂
Frances

Thank you for such a brilliant set of photographic instructions! I made a few wands at the weekend & have posted them on my blog with a link to your site. I’ve posted 2 wands to my 6yr old god-daughter today as she’s recently discovered that she loves the smell of lavender. 🙂 http://thesockgarden.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/lavender-wands/

Thanks for the link. I am glad you were able to make the wands from my post. Lavender is a fabulous plant, your god-daughter is very wise. 🙂
Frances

Someone at my handspinning guild was handing out bunches of lavender, and I thought of your wonderful tutorial.

I made a wand, which looks and smells delightful.

(Now I just need to figure out how to resolve the end of the ribbon.)

Hi Lisa, thanks for visiting. How great that cut lavender was available for you to use to make a wand. I add another small piece of ribbon to the end of the weaving after wrapping the one used for weaving around to hide some of the stems and tie a bow with streamers.
Frances

Hi Friend,
How excited was I when searching “how to make lavender wands” and what should pop up but “Faire Garden” 🙂
Your description is wonderful – a teaching tutorial for sure – Our lavender is not quite ready yet, but when it is, I will enjoy making wands to enjoy and share with others…thanks, Frances 🙂 🙂 🙂 Love, Jane

Hi Jane! How nice that you were led here in your search to make the lavender wands my dear, dear friend! May you have lots of fun making the wands. We always think of you both as the beginning of our love affair with lavender.
xxxooo
Frances

Hi Frances, I was told by a friend to make lavender wands, so today I found your wonderful description with beautiful pictures. I tried one and see it will take a little practice. I have some wonderful lavender which has grown a little more each year. I live in Detroit, MI. The lavender seems to like the spot in the sun by my side door and smells wonderful with all the rain. I hope to try making more wands to give as gifts. This would be a wonderful gift for my visually impaired friends. I am legally blind and love to do crafts since a child. I did find it hard to keep the stems straight, any suggestions? Jane King.

Hi Jane, how wonderful that you are able to grow and use the lavender. The scent is so refreshing. I admire your crafting and think the wands you have made very special. The only suggestion I can give is to keep making them, it does get easier after you have made several, or a hundred.
Frances

Am saddened.
Have unsuccessfully attempted growing lavender several times.
This past failure began with a beautiful pot of blooms and plants for Mother’s Day.
After putting out in the well-drained, sunny watergarden, it also died.
Now the Texas heat … what’s the best, very best, way to get a bed of it begun? Seeds? Tell me!
I’d enjoy making the lavender wands too!

Hi Frances, I am sorry you are sad. Growing lavender is a challenge here in Tennessee as well. When we lived in Houston, I could not grow it at all due to the humidity, irrigation system and heat. I suggest you buy small plants in the early spring of whatever is offered in your area, those will be the most likely to grow there, probably L. grosso or provence, maybe munstead. Find the driest, sunniest, poorest soil you have alkaline if possible. Mulch with gravel. Be prepared to lose one out of 10 plants. Repeat until you get one to grow. Good luck!
Frances

Finally a clear set of instructions for making lavender wands! We have several rather healthy lavender plants at our how (I’m fortunate to live on the Olympic Peninsula near Sequim where the Lavender Festival is) and one can only make so many died bouquets, sachets and baked goods. They make wands, among other things, at the festival every year, but I’ve always missed it. Now I don’t have to treck over next July in hopes of learning. Thanks!

I just recieved a lavender plant from a good friend. I planted it and am hoping it will grow well. So.. .of course I had to research what to use it for and how to care for it. Thanks so much for this great idea! The only problem is I am not patient… I want those plants in bloom so I can try it out!

Good luck with your lavender, Carrie. Patience is required of us gardeners, it’s true.
Frances

I have chills right now. I looked up “Lavender wands” on Google, and “Fairegarden” popped up. I know that name! With many fond memories of your lovely gardens, kitties, laughter and fun, I wish you all the best, Frances.Congratulations on a gorgeous website! You have found your calling, although we knew that long ago. I am still growing herbs, but it is a challenge living in Houston. Miss you! Love and hugs to all, Katherine

I still have one of your lavender wands in my dresser drawer. It is as beautiful as ever! Love these photos – will try one myself.

Hi Kathy, how fun that you stumbled across my blog! I miss you so much and remember well our happy days, including the original Faire Garden. Those wands last nearly forever, don’t they? I have some of the old ones, too, still smelling as sweet. Enjoy your herb garden, I am happy to hear you are still dabbling. Hugs to all!
Frances

Since lavender is a natural repellent for mosquitoes, I wonder if having one with you when your sitting out on the patio would help. I have no room to grow any, but could probably purchase some from someone.

It might help with the insects bugging you, Brenda. I have rubbed leaves of various herbs on my bare arms with good results, lavender, rosemary, various mints.
Frances

I used to make these as a child and couldn’t quite remember the details. I was sitting here with my newly grown Hidcote Blue’s thinking I would love to make those wands (that I still have in my drawer from, yes, 20 plus years ago!). I am so glad to have found what you have written and pictured here! You have obviously mastered the technique and so beautifully described it here with words, pictures, and wonderful sarcasm. You refreshed my memory and now I feel as though I just made them yesterday. Thank you so much! And on a side note- “Kitty” looks as helpful as my cat. Lol. I love that picture!

A friend posted on FB today with a link to your blog of the lavender wands. Just 3 weeks ago I saw lavender wands for the first time in a basket in the “lady’s bedroom” of Plas Mawr, Conwy, N Wales, which is a Elizabethan grand house from 1576 & 1585. I loved your photos and explanation of making.

Hi Marlene, thanks for the kind words and for letting me know about the facebook posting. I could see on the stats page that visitors were coming to that post from fb, but did not know the source. How fun that there were lavender wands in the grand house!
Frances

Hi!
I have tried to grow lavender for years and my latest attempt here in WI has worked out well for me in raised garden beds. I also planted it along the base of the raised beds with moderate success on the side of the yard that is not quite as wet as the other. I am not certain which variety of lavender I have but my stems are no where near as thick, sturdy and especially not as long as your are. Today I made 3 of these wands…afraid mine do not look as even and nice as yours do but they smell divine!! Thank you for the instructions!

Hi Dianne, thanks for reading. There are several varieties of lavender growing here, but for the photos in this post, I believe that is L. grosso or L. provence, a type that grows larger and has very long and thick stems. Good for wand making! Keep practicing, you will get the technique of how taut to hold the ribbon. That is the key to making them look neater.
Frances

Email Subscription

My name is Frances and I am a lifelong gardener, having lived in various parts of the USA over many years. I am now gardening in USDA Zone 7a east Tennessee. From 2000 to 2014 I was gardening on a slope in a small town in Tennessee. I have been blogging about my gardens since December of 2007. Thank you for visiting!